Five Things: John Robinson

Five Things I Can’t Live Without

Story and Photos by Suzanne Kawola/Life@Home

JOHN ROBINSON

Founder and President, Our Ability

John Robinson considers himself lucky to have been born with limbs that are relatively equal in length. He was born a congenital amputee, a disorder caused by blood constriction in the womb that results in missing or underdeveloped limbs.

Robinson has worked for TV stations in Syracuse and in Albany. But “My goal was never to be public about my disability,” he says. “My goal in my life was to be in media.”

While director of corporate support at WMHT, Robinson says a colleague, Dan Swinton, turned the camera on him and said, “I want to tell your story.” Robinson says his initial response was, “Not only do I not want it, (but) I’m not sure people would have any interest.”

Eventually, “I came around to understand that I had no role model as a child with a disability,” he says. “Dan said to me, ‘This is your chance to be the role model for others.’ He was right.” Their video, Get Off Your Knees helped propel Robinson into what he calls “this life of advocating for other people.”

He started to speak around the country and launched his own company, Our Ability, in March 2011. “I’m the one going out and speaking. But it’s really about those 16-year-olds, 26-year-olds, 46-year-olds that are home that need some inspiration to say ‘Hey, I can do it if that person can do it.’”

John’s Five Things:

1. Curtain rod: “This thing was in my mother’s dining room growing up. I stole it one day when it was on the floor when she was cleaning because I realized that the hook probably was going to be able to help me do some things. So, I started pulling up my socks with it.” He put a string on his zipper and used it to zip his pants. “This is the one I’ve had since I was 15.” He carries it with him everywhere. “I cringe every airport that I go through that they are going to take it!”

2. Hand Controls in My Truck: “I couldn’t drive my car without it. I wouldn’t be independent without my car,” he says. “My mom promised to buy me a car when I was 5 and (I) never let her forget it. As time went on they realized what that really meant.” As a family they researched and found a driver’s-ed teacher who could teach John to drive using hand controls. Purchasing the controls for the car was half John’s responsibility, so he sold some old baseball cards to pay for it. “Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams baseball cards that I loved, that I inherited, but it was worth it. I almost never think about those cards and I can’t get around without driving.”

3. Golf clubs: At 7, John was told he couldn’t play Little League anymore because it could become dangerous. “My father said it was torture coming home and telling me I couldn’t play. I really, really liked baseball. My grandfather would pitch baseballs to me hours at a time. I don’t know if I ever really thought before that there would be a time that I would be asked to stop, but I realized that day there was a time I wouldn’t be able to play.” Pretty quickly, Robinson’s father got a 7-iron and took him out in the backyard and said, “Here’s something you can do.”

4. Step Stool: “You can’t deal with life without the step stool!” He wasn’t going to put it on his list initially, but a college friend convinced him otherwise. “The reality is I couldn’t use a sink or a bathroom without it. Like it or not, it’s part of life.”

5. Computer: “I couldn’t conduct my business without the computer. And, I would take that back 15 years. The reason why I could be successful in sales at the speed of business is because I had a computer and I adapted to it faster than others.” Pointing to his computer, “That’s changed my life more than any of this stuff. Somebody could always dress me. I could always find other recreation. I could get someone to drive me. But, my job would be completely different, which means my lifestyle would be completely different.”